Take a Stand
by IxLovexGreen
Summary: Galinda was worried. Not about the latest fashion or her own behaviour. No, she was worried about something else that bothered her more than she wanted to admit it. Gelphie friendship


**Title: **Times change

**Raiting: **PG

**Pairing: **Gelphie friendship

**Subject: **book

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything…unfortunately

**Notes: **This was betaed by Frayter and I thank her for that. I already wrote another Birthday One Shot, but back then it had been Galinda's. Now it's Elphaba's.

* * *

**Times change**

Galinda was worried. Not about the latest fashion or her own behaviour. No, she was worried about something else that bothered her more than she wanted to admit it.

But her thoughts were interrupted when the other society girls took their seats next to Galinda. She wanted to sigh, but suppressed the urge and smiled instead.

"Have you already heard that..." Miss Pfannee started, but the blonde stopped listening. She had indeed greater worries than the latest rumours that were probably just about her roommate and they wouldn't be true anyway.

Her eyes wandered through the room until they found a green girl sitting alone at a table. The sight made Galinda's heart ache. Not because the green girl was sitting alone, she always did, but her normal facade of coldness and harshness was gone.

Elphaba looked lost and vulnerable. She didn't eat and she didn't even read one of her old books. She just stared at an invisible spot on the wall.

Galinda felt like jumping up and run over to her friend. Yes, friend, indeed. At some point after hating and loathing each others presence they had become friends.

Normally she would have ignored the urge to stand up, like she always did when Elphaba was sitting alone at her table receiving stares and unfriendly comments.

But today was different.

Today those comments and stares hit the green girl hard and Galinda desperately wanted to make the other students stop, but she couldn't. She wanted to shield her friend from all of this. Elphaba did not deserve to be treated that way.

So Galinda stood up so abruptly that Misses ShenShen and Pfannee yelped. And one couldn't say that they did it quietly. Ergo everybody in the hall turned to look at them.

Elphaba did, too, Galinda noticed.

"Sweet Oz, Miss Galinda what is it?" ShenShen asked confused.

Galinda smiled an obviously faked smile and simply walked away without another word. But she did not leave the room as everyone thought she would do. Instead she took a seat next to a stunned Elphaba.

Galinda carefully took a green hand in her own and smiled.

"What's wrong, Elphie?" she asked softly.

"You shouldn't have done that, my sweet" was a whispered reply.

The blonde chose to ignore the statement and went on. "What makes today different than any other day?"

Elphaba didn't protest this time, she just closed her eyes to gain back some of her self control. She felt Galinda squeezing her own and opened her eyes again.

"It is my birthday, Galinda" Elphaba answered with a slightly trembling voice.

Galinda knew that everyone was still looking at her, or better, them. But she was just too shocked to actually care.

"Oh, Elphie..." she whispered. "I didn't... I never... I should have known" she stumbled out an answer.

Elphaba smiled sadly. "I never told you, my sweet" she said matter of factly. "I didn't expect _anything_ from you, but father... and Nessa..." she wasn't able to finish the sentence, so Galinda did.

"He didn't write you? Not even a word from Nessarose?" Galinda couldn't believe what she had just learned. This was something that had never happened in her life. Everyone had always acknowledged her birthday and she _always_ got presents. "I'm sorry, Elphie."

All the other students were still wondering what their precious Galinda had to do with the green bean. Galinda knew that, but still she didn't let go of Elphaba's hand when she stood up and pulled her friend with her.

"Let's go, Elphie. Let's get out of here" Galinda said smiling and kissed her friend's cheek in front of everyone.

Elphaba nodded and smiled in return. Maybe it would be a happy birthday after all.

Her very first one.


End file.
